To beat Lamont, Republicans need some fresh ideas
Brace yourself, the 2022 race for governor has begun. Gov. Ned Lamont’s deft leadership through the public health crisis and the numerical advantage any Connecticut Democrat enjoys combine to make the first-term incumbent a favorite for reelection. Lamont’s history of using his vast fortune to influence voters will discourage any ambitious Democrat from challenging the Greenwich aristocrat from his left flank. It will be the task of a Republican to launch an underdog bid to unseat Lamont and give voters the choice a robust democracy requires.
It’s not just children with visions of sugar plums dancing in their heads the night before Christmas. A handful of Republicans are dreaming of replacing Lamont. The party’s unsuccessful 2018 nominee, former payday lending executive Bob Stefanowski, recently wrote in
The Day newspaper of New London that Lamont ought to give up his emergency powers as the coronavirus surges. Outgoing House Republican leader Themis Klaridis continues to declare she is not done with public service. New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart wants to stand out as the leading Republican immune to the poisonous spell Donald Trump has cast on her party. Darien First Selectman Jayme Stevenson continues to demonstrate she will not concede housing issues to bossy leftists. Other contenders may emerge.
A successful Republican candidate will need to repudiate the fever of conspiracy and hate that has found a home in the party. Assuming some of them are capable of performing what should be an easy task, there is a way forward. Run a race in the credible ideas lane — and do it from the start. A competitive Republican will scoff at a silly mantra to repeal the state income tax. Her or his head is already crammed with ideas and the drive to test them in political competition.
Losing candidates spend their campaigns looking for ideas. Winners run because they have transformed their beliefs into plans and want to enact them in public office.
On Jan. 1, Connecticut’s Family and Medical Leave Act takes effect. Many workers will begin contributing one-half of 1% of their pay to a state-run fund. Benefits will not be available until 2022. Not all workers will be dunned each week. State employees are exempt — they have effective lobbyists at the Capitol. This reduction in pay for most workers as the state struggles to create the conditions for an economic recovery calls for other views. There are plenty of ways to fund paid leave benefits that do not require the creation of a new state bureaucracy. A Republican who wants to be governor ought to be able to fight that corner.
For nearly 50 years, governors have promised to do something about the high cost of electricity in Connecticut. Their favored solution is to reconfigure and rename regulatory agencies, hinder innovation and guarantee utility monopolies bigger profits, requiring us to compensate as the use of renewable energy grows. State residents continue to pay among the highest rates in the nation. Those oppressive costs hinder economic development, especially in manufacturing. A green Republican who explains with verve how the genius of invention and competition can add carbon-free energy to the state’s power supply may appeal to a wide range of voters.
The Republican with a plan to reform State Police work rules will win attention. When this year ends three sergeants will have together made more than $1.1 million in salary and benefits this year. That is terrible management, dangerous policing practice, and ruinous to the taxpayer. Someone who aspires to be governor ought to be able to explain how to fix a problem that Lamont continues to ignore.
The euphoria of a vaccine — made possible by free minds engaged in competition — will be accompanied by some harsh economic realities. Connecticut’s recovery will take longer than vaccinating our residents. Many businesses and employees enjoy the benefits of working from home. New York financial titans Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan are eyeing leaving New York. If parts or all of those financial companies leave the region, Connecticut will lose taxpayers who add eye popping payments to state coffers. The Republican who possesses some credible ideas on meeting challenges starts the race with a chance.